Several members of the band are ardent fans of the English football team Leeds United (as the band originates from Leeds). The band are named after the South African Kaizer Chiefs Football Club, the former team of long-serving former Leeds captain Lucas Radebe.
The band's main musical influences include The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Kinks, Blur, Eric Burdon, The Jam, and other new wave bands. Andrew White (b. England; guitar), Ricky Wilson (b. Charles Richard Wilson, 17 January 1975, Keighley, West Yorkshire, England; vocals), Nick Baines (keyboards), Nick Hodgson (b. Nicholas Hodgson, 20 October 1977, England; drums) and Simon Rix (b. James Simon Rix, 18 October 1977, England; bass) formed the band in early 2003, having originally played garage rock under the Parva moniker. Their energetic brand of post-millennial guitar rock, which would have been branded "indie" in previous decades, quickly found favour on the local gig circuit. The quintet issued their debut, the XTC-soundalike Oh My God, before they had even signed a proper recording contract, teaming up with the Drowned In Sound website in May 2004 for a limited edition release. A contract with the B-Unique label followed and the band began to attract wider interest at the end of 2004 with the release of their storming I Predict A Riot. The topical lyrics, concerning alcohol-fuelled violence in small English towns, attracted as much attention as the band's anarchic update on late 70s new wave.
The band's explosion onto the global music scene in early 2005 was epitomised when they had their first single I Predict A Riot off their debut album Employment played on the radio around the world and opened Live8 in Philadelphia. Several years prior to 2003 the members of the band had been a garage rock group called Parva (before that they had been known as Runston Parva). However, after their label Mantra Records went bust in late 2002, the band went back to their roots and adopted a more britpop sound, helping the band reach their current popularity within the UK and beyond as a consequence.
The band re-released the single Oh My God on 21 February, which charted at #6. The debut album Employment was released on 7 March 2005 and entered the charts at #3 that week. Despite becoming favourite after being shortlisted, the album failed to win the 2005 Mercury Music Prize. They covered the Marvin Gaye classic, Heard it Through the Grapevine for the War Child album Help! A Day in the Life, giving a whole new slant on the song.
A DVD, entitled Enjoyment, was released in November 2005. The basis of the DVD is a (semi-false) documentary about the band narrated by Bill Nighy. It also includes all the promo videos, live performances and more.
An internet-only (so far) music video for their song Sink that Ship has been released in September 2005. The video appears on Electronic Arts' website as a promotional tool for their game Burnout Revenge but is completely unbranded.
Wilson auctioned off his red tambourine to radio show Xfm in late 2005 to raise money for the homeless charity Shelter. The winning bid was £375.00.
On February 5th, The Kaiser Chiefs Released their next single, Ruby, which was a major success reaching #1 in the singles charts.
The Kaiser Chiefs released their new album, Yours Truly, Angry Mob on February 23, 2007 in The Netherlands and Belgium, February 26, 2007 in the United Kingdom and on March 27, 2007 in North America. A double disc edition is also available, the second disc being a DVD.
It is known that three of the band members went to a school near Highroyd, Leeds. Also, Nick (drummer) announced during a gig in Newcastle Upon Tyne that his dad went to a school called St. Cuthberts in Newcastle. Other famous people from that school include Ant & Dec and Sting.
The band released their third album, Off With Their Heads, on October 20, 2008. It contains the hit single Never Miss a Beat.
Songfacts states that the band's fourth album, The Future Is Medieval was released through the band's website on June 3, 2011. In effect the world's first bespoke album, fans are able to create their own version of the record by choosing their favorite 10 tracks from the selection of 20 on offer. One-minute excerpts allow them to make their selections and each song is represented by an object.
After creating their own album, people can then share their version of the record with other fans, and earn £1 each time it is purchased by someone else.
5th album "Education, Education, Education and War!" was released on 31st March 2014 on Fiction Records, featuring the UK Top 40 single, 'Coming Home', and was their first UK number one album since 2007's 'Yours Truly, Angry Mob'.
Also on the Fiction label, their 6th album, Stay Together, was released on the 7th October 2016, with a notable shift towards dance-pop, hitting #4 on the UK Albums Chart.
In 2019, they moved to Polydor, and released 'Duck' on 26th July, featuring the singles 'Record Collection' and 'People Know How To Love One Another'. It peaked at #3 on the UK Albums Chart.
Performances
Kaiser Chiefs' first big festival show was at the dual-site Reading and Leeds Festival on 27 August 2004 and in the following year, on 16 May 2005, they appeared at the Pinkpop Festival in Landgraaf, The Netherlands. After that, things went fast. They were the opening act at the Philadelphia Live 8 concert on July 2nd 2005, one of only two British acts in the lineup (Def Leppard being the other). They performed I Predict a Riot, Everyday I Love You Less and Less and Oh My God. They played Reading and Leeds in 2006 before Franz Ferdinand and were extremely popular.
June 2005 saw them headline at the May Ball at Queens' College, Cambridge, supported by Anada, before an acclaimed appearance at a rain-soaked Glastonbury festival during the same month, whilst August's appearance at the V Festival featured a very enthusiastic set despite Ricky Wilson having his leg in plaster. Also more recently they embarked on their own headline UK Tour, supported by Maximo Park and The Cribs. Their first US tour (with The Cribs) ran through the summer of 2005, and they followed it by playing a few shows on the Foozer tour. This was followed up by opening for Foo Fighters during their Australian tour in December 2005. They also played to Jools Holland and his audience on December 31, 2005.
Their song Ruby, from the album Yours Truly, Angry Mob was featured as a bonus song in Guitar Hero III, and I Predict a Riot from Employment was eventually released as downloadable content for the game.
Kaiser Chiefs are set to return to the European festival scene this summer, having been booked for Switzerland's Gurten Festival.
Coming Home
Kaiser Chiefs Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Do you wish you hadn't gotten so high?
Do you wish you hadn't come? Oh no, gotta go
Do you wish you wasn't half past gone?
Do you wish you didn't last that long?
Do you wish you hadn't come? Oh no, gotta go, gotta run
May I remind that you've got nowhere to go,
So I'm standing beside you,
Standing beside you 'til you find our way back home
We're coming home,
We're coming home,
Light a fire
We're coming home.
We'll write it down,
We'll write it all down
And we're dancing on the finest line,
Between the chance of the time of our lives,
Wishing you were done, oh no, gotta run
And we're choosing not to make that choice,
And we lose our shoes and voice,
But we have a lot of fun on the way, wanna play?
Gotta come!
May I remind you,
May I remind that you've got no where to go,
So I'm standing beside you,
I'm standing beside you 'til you find our way back home
We're coming home,
We're coming home,
Light a fire
We're coming home.
We'll write it down,
We'll write it all down
We're coming home,
We're coming home,
Light a fire
We're coming home.
We'll write it down,
We'll write it all down
Then it all comes flooding back to me,
Like a forgotten melody from a dream
Then it all comes flooding back to me,
Like a forgotten melody from a dream
Then it all comes flooding back to me,
Like a forgotten melody
We're coming home,
We're coming home,
Light a fire
We're coming home.
We'll write it down,
We'll write it all down
We're coming home,
We're coming home,
Light a fire
We're coming home.
We'll write it down,
We'll write it all down
The lyrics of the Kaiser Chief's song "Coming Home" opens with a series of rhetorical questions, questioning the identity and motives of the listener. The lines "Do you wish you hadn't stayed all night?" and "Do you wish you hadn't gotten so high?" suggest reflection on the choices and actions made the night before, leading to a sense of regret or unease. The repetition of "Do you wish you hadn't come?" emphasises a sense of responsibility and the desire to escape from the consequences of one's actions.
The repeated chorus, "We're coming home, light a fire, we'll write it down," conveys a sense of comfort and stability. The idea of writing things down is a way of recording and remembering events, creating a sense of permanence and control over the chaos of life. The verses that follow focus on the idea of the present moment, with the line, "And we're dancing on the finest line, between the chance of the time of our lives." The listener is encouraged to embrace the moment, let go of control and enjoy the ride, despite the potential consequences.
Overall, the song appears to be about trying to find a sense of belonging and comfort in a chaotic and uncertain world. The repeated chorus "We're coming home" echoes this desire to return to a place of safety and familiarity. The song is a reminder to enjoy the present moment while still being mindful of our actions and their consequences.
Line by Line Meaning
Do you wish you hadn't stayed all night?
Do you regret staying up all night?
Do you wish you hadn't gotten so high?
Do you regret getting too drunk or high?
Do you wish you hadn't come? Oh no, gotta go
Do you regret coming to this event or place and now want to leave?
Do you wish you wasn't half past gone?
Do you regret being extremely intoxicated or under the influence of drugs?
Do you wish you didn't last that long?
Do you regret being at the event or place for such a long time?
Do you wish you hadn't come? Oh no, gotta go, gotta run
Do you regret coming to this event or place and now want to leave as soon as possible?
May I remind you, May I remind that you've got nowhere to go, So I'm standing beside you, Standing beside you 'til you find our way back home
I want to remind you that we don't have any other place to go, so I'll stay by your side until we find a way back home.
We're coming home, We're coming home, Light a fire We're coming home. We'll write it down, We'll write it all down
We're going to return home now and celebrate our journey by lighting a fire and writing about it.
And we're dancing on the finest line, Between the chance of the time of our lives, Wishing you were done, oh no, gotta run
We're dancing on the edge of taking risks and making memories that will last a lifetime, but you're tired and want to leave.
And we're choosing not to make that choice, And we lose our shoes and voice, But we have a lot of fun on the way, wanna play? Gotta come!
We're deciding not to worry about the consequences and are completely losing control, but we're having a good time and want you to join us too.
Then it all comes flooding back to me, Like a forgotten melody from a dream
I suddenly remember everything that happened, like a familiar tune I forgot from a dream.
We're coming home, We're coming home, Light a fire We're coming home. We'll write it down, We'll write it all down
We're going to return home now and celebrate our journey by lighting a fire and writing about it.
We're coming home, We're coming home, Light a fire We're coming home. We'll write it down, We'll write it all down
We're going to return home now and celebrate our journey by lighting a fire and writing about it.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Songtrust Ave
Written by: Nicholas Baines, James Rix, Andrew Robert White, Charles Richard Wilson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Leonardo Ferreira
This a song is an absolute Masterpiece, it deserved way more hype and propagation. Listened the day it was released, still listening today. Whenever I'm feeling sad or lonely, this song lifts me up a lot. I've lost count on how many times I've seen Kaiser Chiefs live, like, 10 times already (all in Portugal), and each one of them was stupendous. They're like a true garage band playing professionally on a big stage, flawlessly, that's what I love the most about them. This video is a masterpiece tho. We want another Education Education Education and War style of album, you can do it.
Alexey Punov
Same here. Fantastically underrated song, can give a hope in any possible miserable time. Definitely in Top 10 of songs making people better.
Mariano Galvan
Jhh😊
Patricia
Amo esa guitarra!! I love that guitar!!
Will Fallon
Superb song
Love listening to this one
mariana león
Siempre me hace llorar, no sé porqué ❤ eso es prueba de que es arte puro.💯
DomerOfficial
My first Kaiser Chiefs’ song I’ve heard. I was starting university at that time. Beautiful song and memories. 😢 Now I love more of your songs. ❤
John Thorne
One of my very, very favorite videos. I love the lyrics of this song; they are very wise. I love the concept and execution of the video. As for the location, I absolutely love that bleak but beautiful landscape. I am guessing it is either Scotland or northern England. Hell, maybe it's Iceland in the summer; I don't know. Anyway, Kaiser Chiefs, thank you, thank you, thank you.
Post-script: I have subsequently learned the video was shot in northern England. There you go.
Oli Williams
This deserves more views. Their new sound is just awesome.
Fabinho_ Sp
Sensacional 👏👏👏
it's just wonderful😍😍